


Lost Girl: Jamie's Story

by Hroofitz



Category: Lost Girl
Genre: Alcohol, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Major Original Character(s), Mild Language, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, No Smut, POV Original Female Character, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2018-09-20 09:38:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9485375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hroofitz/pseuds/Hroofitz
Summary: Updates occasionallyFor this story I have basically taken the show Lost Girl, smudged the timeline a little bit, and dropped my own new character, Jamie, into the story. It is told from Jamie's point of view.There will be scenes that are word for word from the show and those of course aren't mine and they'll be underlined in the story.PrologueMy life was... Well I don't really know how to describe it.I never knew my parents. When I was a baby I was left on the front steps of an orphanage. I lived in there until I was only 4 years old. Then the day after my 4th birthday I was sent to my first foster home. I never stayed in one for very long so I never really had a family or any place to call home. I didn't think my life could get any lonelier, but not long after my 16th birthday it did.I killed someone.Murdered them...I don't even remember doing it. One minute they were alive and next thing I knew, they were dead. It was terrifying. I didn't know what to do, so I ran. I ran for 12 years. Town to town, constantly changing my name, my job, everything. I thought I was going to have to run forever.But then I met someone.And that's where my story begins.





	1. The Meeting

 My shift has finally ended and I am walking home. I decide to take a shortcut through a back ally. I want to get home. I need sleep, I am craving it. It has been a very long day.

All of a sudden I get thrown against a wall and I hit my head hard against the brick. My vision starts to go black against the edges so I can't see much.

I only remember a few things, the smell of perfume, dark brown almost black hair, and glowing blue eyes.

Then.....

Darkness.

~~~

 I wake up in, what I think is, a hospital. The room is so white that it's almost blinding. Once my eyes adjust, I realize there is only one other person in the room. She has long blond hair and dark brown eyes. When she realizes that I am awake she comes over and says, 

"It's good to see that you are awake," checking her clipboard, “Jamie, my name is Lauren."

"Where am I?"

"You’re in a hospital called The Clinic," she says.

"A hospital, called the Clinic? Really? Whose idea was that?"

"I know; it can get pretty confusing sometimes."

"I bet. How long have I been here?" I ask

"Two days," she replies.

I guess this means I'm going to have to get a new job, again.

"A police officer found you in an alley, you lost a lot of blood from an injury on the back of your head," she tells me.

"That must be why my head hurts so much." My head is wrapped with white gauze; I can see some of it out of the corner of my eye.

"In order to get to the wound on your head, we had to cut your hair."

"Can I see it," I ask her.

"Yeah, we should be able to take the wrappings off now." I sit up and she unwraps the gauze from around my head. Then she hands me a mirror. My long dark brown hair was now really short; I feel my new haircut.

"What do you think of your new look," she asks.

"I love it," I say, “it actually looks pretty good, I’ve been wanting to cut it for a while."

"Good, I'm glad you like it," she pauses, "Do you remember what happened to you?"

"Not really, just bits and pieces."

"The officer that found you is waiting outside to ask you a few questions."

She walks out of the room and comes back with the officer. He is about a head taller than Lauren and has a well-groomed beard. He is wearing a brown leather jacket over a leather vest and a black collared shirt with a light grey tie, and black jeans.

He says, "My name is Dyson, would you mind if I asked you some questions?"

"Not at all," I reply.

"Do you know what happened to you the other night?" He asks

"Not really, like I told Lauren I can only remember bits and pieces."

"Well tell me what you do remember."

"Okay, I remember leaving work, and I decided to take a short cut home, so I went through a back alley. Then I got thrown against a wall, and I hit my head. It all happened so fast."

"Did you know the person who attacked you?"

"No, I don't think so."

Pulling out a pen and flipping open a notebook he asks, "Could you give me a description?"

"Well, I didn't really get a good look at her face, but she had long dark brown hair, almost black, and I remember the smell of perfume."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, she had glowing blue eyes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I definitely remember blue eyes."

He turns around and looks at Lauren, who looks very worried.

"Well, thank you. We will do our best to find the person who did this to you," he says, then he stands up and walks out.

Lauren walks over and tells me I should get some rest, so I close my eyes and go to sleep.

I dream of the attack, and those blue eyes.


	2. The Second Questioning

The next morning another police officer comes and talks to me.

"Hello, I'm detective Hale I work with Dyson. If you’re up for it I would like to ask you a few follow up questions," he says.

"Sure," I reply.

"Okay, the description you gave Detective Dyson about your attacker, we were wondering if you remember any more details that might help us find her."

"No, sorry, all I remember is the dark brown hair, the perfume, and those glowing blue eyes."

"You say they were glowing?"

"Yeah, you must think I'm crazy."

"No not at all. That was all I needed to know, thank you."

He walks out and I can make out two figures through the door. Hale is talking to a woman, probably Lauren. Then he comes back into the room and asked me to close my eyes and think about the attack, he says that it could help me remember more about it. So I do, I try to visualize it, then it's like I'm forgetting the attack, almost like it is replaying in my head but the details are different, like they are changing. So I keep trying to remember it the way it really happened so that I don't forget. My head feels like it is going to explode. Then he tells me that I can open my eyes, and he asks the same question again.

"Could you give me the description of the person who attacked you?"

It's strange, it's almost like he wants me to say something different, so I give him what he wants, and I tell him a different description than the one before.

"Sure, she had brown hair, she was wearing perfume, and she had dark brown eyes."

"Okay, thank you, we are doing all we can to find her. We will keep you updated."

"No problem, I'm just glad I could help."

Then he is gone.

~~~

When I wake up the next morning, all I can think of is a name.

 Bo.

 I have never heard the name before. So I have no idea where it came from. I decide to ask Lauren about the name next time I see her. About an hour later Lauren comes in to check on me.

"Lauren, could I ask you something?"

"Sure," she replies curiously. She is checking my vitals and writing them on my chart.

"Do you know anyone by the name of Bo?"

She freezes and look up at me. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Well when I woke up this morning, all I could think of was that name, but I’m not sure why."

"That’s strange." She goes back to checking my vitals.

"I know right. I can’t figure out where it came from." I can tell the conversation is making her nervous, so I decide to change the subject, "When am I going to be able to leave?"

Seemingly relieved by the change of subject she replies, "As long as everything goes smoothly, you could be out of here by the end of the week."

"What is today?" 

"Wednesday."

"Okay, that's not so bad."

Then a sharp pain near the wound on my head causes me to wince. 

"What's wrong," Lauren asks.

"My head hurts," I reply, pressing the side of my head.

She pulls out a needle, "For the pain," she says. Then she injects it into my IV tube and everything fades away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... What did you think?  
> How did Jamie resist Hale's siren whistle?  
> Let me know what you think in the comments  
> Also sorry again that this part is so short.  
> This is the last of the short ones for a while.  
> Thanks!


	3. The Nain Rouge

Once again I dream of her blue eyes. Except this time, I don't see her as my attacker, I see her as Bo.

One moment all I can see are Bo's glowing blue eyes, the next I am sitting in a bar that I've never been in before. But I'm not alone, there is a girl. "Where am I? How did I get here?" I ask her.

"Welcome to Limbo," she responds.

She appears to be about 13 years old but her voice is almost demonic, it sounds like two voices laid over top of each other. She is wearing a long red dress over a white collared shirt, along with white panty hose and black buckle shoes.

"What," I ask confused.

"Welcome to Limbo," she repeats, "it is where spirits go when they have been pushed out of their body by another, and sometimes when they are on the brink of death, the doctors are trying to revive you as we speak." She is very calm; she would be speaking in monotone if it weren’t for the whole demonic voice thing.

I breathe for a second to let what she just said sink in, "Well if I'm here because I'm dying, then why are you here?"

"I'm the Nain Rouge, and I am here to warn you."

"The Nain Rouge?"

"Some people call me the 'Harbinger of Doom.'"

"And you said you are here to warn me? Warn me about what?"

"Well usually I only observe, but this time is different."

"Why is this time different?”

"You are a key player."

"A key player in what?"

"In everything."

I laugh. This comes as a shock to me. Well the whole conversation has been a shock to me. "Okay, okay, hold on," I say, while trying to think, "let me get this straight, I'm dying, and now I'm talking to you, the Nain Rouge, who observes things. Am I right so far?"

"Yes."

"Okay, and you are here to warn me about something, which you don't normally do, but for some reason this time is different. And I, a normal person, am a 'key player' in everything?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"O-k," I sigh, still confused, "tell me what I need to know."

"You were attacked 5 days ago by another key player..."

"Bo," I interrupt.

"You are to find out who attacked you by yourself," she says, still calm.

"Okay, okay, sorry. Keep going."  

"There is a great evil coming," she continues, "That person who attacked you, they're supposed to face that evil. But, that person won't face it alone. They have a lot of friends, and a lot of allies, but that won't be enough, not without you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you must help them..."

"Why would I help? I mean, she attacked me, she nearly killed me," I say gesturing around the room.

"That’s true, but this person has a lot of their own demons to face as well, demons that they will confront later."

"That still doesn't tell me why I should help."

"I know that you have been running for a long time..."

"How do you..."

"I know that all you want is a safe place to hide from your past, and to have friends, people who care about you. The person that attacked you, they can give you that."

I sigh and think for a moment before responding, "Okay fine, I'll help. But how exactly am I supposed to do that? Like you said, I'm dying, I don't think I am a lot of help to anyone right now."

"Your right, you’re not. Not right now. But in a few days you will wake up. When you do, you have to sneak out of that hospital."

"And then what?"

"Then just walk. Your feet will take you where you need to go."

"Okay. Sounds simple enough. What do I do after I get where I need to go?"

"I have told you all that I can. The only other thing I can say, is that you will know what to do from there."

"But how?"

"We're out of time, good luck, things are going to change."

Before I can ask her what she means, she is gone, and once again, all I can see are those blue eyes.

 


	4. Escape

 All of a sudden I'm awake.

I'm alone, so I assume most of the doctors have gone home for the night. I know I have to get out. But how? There is a map of the building on the wall, it has evacuation routes on it. I see that I will have to go through the main part of the building in order to get out.

"That's just great," I sarcastically think aloud.

I memorize the way out, then I hear a security guard walking down the hallway outside my door. I turn so that he can't see me through the door and wait for him to leave. I wait until he turns down the next hallway before I leave my room and head the opposite direction. At the end of the hall, there are two directions I can go, I can turn right or I can turn left. I picture the map in my head, and then I turn left and continue to walk. I come to another choice, and this time I turn right. This place is like a giant maze.

Right.

Left.

Left.

Right.

Left again.

I take 8 more turns before I finally get to the lobby and see the exit. I start to walk towards it, my heart racing, when I hear voices.

I panic.

There is a desk near the door so I run and hide under it.

"I tested her blood, she is definitely human," it sounds like Lauren's voice.

"Maybe so, but her attacker definitely wasn't." It is a man's voice, "Do you really think it could have been Bo who attacked her," I take a chance and look around the desk. It's Dyson and Lauren.

"I really hope not," Lauren says to him, "but it did look like a succubus feed."

'Succubus feed?' I think quietly to myself.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," he tells her.

"I know, I'm worried, the other day she asked me about the name Bo. How could she know that name?" Lauren asks.

He tries to comfort her, "maybe she just heard you say the name while she was sleeping. But if it was Bo who attacked her, then we will figure it out. Okay?"

"Okay," she nods.

Then they both leave the Clinic and go their separate ways. When I am sure they are gone I get out from under the desk, and walk out the front door. I remember that the Nain Rouge told me that my feet would take me where I needed to go, whatever that meant. So I decide to just walk.

I have been walking for, what fells like, a couple hours, when I see it. A very large building with boarded up windows. It is completely surrounded by a tall chain link fence, fortunately it doesn't have a lock on it so I am able to get to the building. Inside there is a short hallway that leads to the front door. I knock several times, but no one answers. I try the door knob, but I'm not surprised when it's locked. As I start to leave, I hear a small click.

"Hello? Is there someone there," I ask, turning around.

No answer.

I walk back towards the door and try the door knob again.

It's unlocked.

"What the hell," I ask myself aloud.

I go inside, the place is amazing. It is colorful and actually looks kind of cozy, which is the complete opposite of what it looks like from the outside. "Hello," I shout, "is anyone here?" Again no answer. I look around, but I don't touch anything, I am intruding enough, I'm not going to dig through their stuff, whoever _they_ are. Across the room from the front door are two stair cases, one on the left and one on the right. I go up the left staircase and end up in a gorgeous attic bedroom. I go back downstairs and up the right staircase, and come to another bedroom. There is a chest sitting open on the bed so I walk over to it. It is full of all sorts of knives and swords, there are even a couple ninja star looking things. I decide that I should probably get out of here before the people who live here get back. So I start back down the stairs.

About half way down, I start to feel dizzy. When I get all the way down the stairs, I hear a car door slam shut. I realize that I have left the front door open and the owners are home.

"Shit," I say.

"Did you leave the door open," someone asks.

"No, did you," asks another.

"No," the first person replies.

There is a short pause, "Stay behind me," says the first voice.

"No argument from this one," says the second.

I just stand there in the middle of the room frozen in place. I am still dizzy, and my vision is starting to blur. The two women walk in and all I can make out is that the woman in the front is holding a knife, and the one standing behind her has long black hair.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here," asks the woman in the front. I blink over and over again trying clear my vision, it clears just long enough for me to fully make out the woman in the front. She is wearing black leather and has long dark brown hair. Something about her seems familiar. The room starts to spin and I only get out one word before I pass out.

"Bo?"


	5. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know I haven't been posting on schedule. And for that I'm sorry.  
> But here's the next chapter.

The next time I wake up, I am back in the Clinic and hooked up to a heart monitor.

I am also handcuffed to the bed.

I hear Lauren talking to someone outside my door. She walks into the room and says, "I see you're awake." Then two people walk in after her and she introduces them.

"Jamie, this is Bo," she says, pointing to a woman dressed in black leather, "and Kenzi," she points to the slightly shorter girl with long black hair. "They live in the house that you broke into last night."

All I can think of are those blue eyes. The heart monitor beeps at my increasing heart rate. I am terrified of Bo, because I know that it was her who attacked me.

I can barely remember entering their house the night before. But I know I didn't "break in."

"Hi," Bo says walking towards me, "we just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

I can't respond. But even if I could, I don't know what I would have said. I'm not sure how I feel about Bo at this point. I'm terrified of her yet at the same time I trust her.

"We were just wondering," she says, "how _did_ you get in?"

I struggle to remember, closing my eyes and shaking my head I reply, "I uh, I'm - I'm not sure." Then it hits me, "wait... uh, the door was locked, so I started to leave, but as I did, I heard a click, so I went back and I tried to open the door again, and it was unlocked."

Then Kenzi asks jokingly, "So the door just unlocked itself?"

"Yeah, s-sort of," I reply, realizing how crazy I sound. My head starts to ache. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, against Lauren's wishes, "could you uncuff me," I ask, holding up my cuffed wrist. "I promise not to run again."

Hesitating she sighs, "I guess." Then she walks over and unlocks the cuffs.

I rub my wrist where the cuff had been, then I stand up, but my legs aren't quite ready to walk yet so I stumble. Fortunately, Bo catches me. "I just want to sit in that chair," I say, gesturing towards a chair in the corner of the room, "I'm tired of laying in this hospital bed."

"Okay," she says and she helps me walk over to, and sit down in, the chair.

"Thanks," I say.

"You're welcome," Bo replies.

Once I sit down, the pain in my head worsens, I groan and rub my forehead.

"Are you okay," Lauren asks.

"I don't know," I reply, "but my head is killing me." She picks up a stethoscope, presses the end against my wrist, and takes my pulse.

"Your heart is racing," she says worried.

"I'm going to guess that's bad." Then the pain multiplies. "It's getting worse," I groan.

"Describe the pain," Lauren tells me.

"I don't see how that's supposed to help," I say through my teeth, "but, since you asked, it feels like I'm," I pause, searching for the right word, "changing."

"What do you mean changing?" she asks puzzled.

"I mean it feels like something inside of me, is changing." Then the pain begins to spread through my entire body, causing me to practically shake.

"What's happening," Bo asks.

"The pain, it's everywhere, my whole body," I groan.

Then Lauren runs and gets a syringe out of a cabinet and unwraps the plastic cover. As she walks back towards me she says, "I need to draw some of your blood, please try to hold as still as you can."

In order to hold still I have to grip the arm of the chair with my right arm as I hold out my left. I look away as she sticks the needle into the vein in my arm, and draws some blood. When she pulls the needle out, she tapes some white gauze to my arm. Then she runs over to a microscope, puts some of my blood on a slide and looks at it under the microscope.

Her jaw literally drops.

"Lauren, what is it?" Bo asks.

"Her cells are - dying," she says, looking up from the microscope.

There is silence, even Bo and Kenzi know it's bad. Then the pain intensifies again, causing me to cry out. Kenzi runs over and holds my hand and pats my leg. Lauren looks in the microscope again.

"Wait, hold on," she says, "her cells aren't dying, they're changing. She was right. Her DNA, it's - it's changing, her entire biological composition is changing!" Lauren is completely baffled.

"Can't you do something?" Kenzi asks her.

"I wish I could, but I've never seen anything like this before," Lauren says. She looks in the microscope one more time and says, "I think these cells are done changing, I need to check something." She runs over to the other side of the room and grabs a test tube with a clear liquid in it, and a long que-tip. She dips the que-tip in the blood that she said was done changing and swirls it around in the liquid, causing the liquid to turn blue. She looks at me in awe.

Bo asks, "Lauren what is it? What does that mean? Why did it turn blue?"

"This vile is a test, you take a little of someone's blood and swirl it around in the vile, if it stays clear, which is what it did when I tested Jamie's blood the first time she was brought in, it means that someone is human. But if it turns blue it means," she takes a deep breath," it means that someone is Fae."

"Your saying that when she was first brought in she was human, but now she's Fae?" Bo asks her.

"How is that possible?" asks Kenzi.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying, and I have no idea how that's possible. I mean, there are certain things you can do to become Fae, but no one has ever just changed into Fae without either having two Fae parents or doing one of those things," Lauren replies. They all look at me.

Through gritted teeth I ask, "What's-- what's Fae? What-- what do you mean --I'm-- I'm turning-- Fae? What's-- what's happening-- to me?" The pain spikes up one more time causing me to cry out and just like that, it stops.

No one says anything while I tried to catch my breath, then I say, "I think it stopped."

"All of your cells must have finished mutating," Lauren concludes, "do you feel any different?"

"Not really," I say starting to stand up, I stumble a little, Kenzi helps me regain my balance and sit back down in the chair. "Thanks," I tell her.

"Well, if she's Fae now, doesn't that mean she should have some sort of Fae super power?" Kenzi asks.

"Normally a Fae's power starts to reveal itself around puberty, so I would assume that the same sort of thing would happen to her, starting when the cell mutation ended, but there is no way to be sure," she says.

Still confused, I say, "Sorry, um... Fae?"

"Fae are an evolutionary branch that predates on humans," Lauren answers.

"So I was human before, but now I'm Fae?"

"Yes, but Fae, is a general classification, there are many types."

"What kind of Fae are you," I ask Lauren.

"The human doctor type," she says.

"What about you Kenzi are you Fae?"

"Nope," she says, "but BoBo over there is."

"Really," I ask Bo, "what kind?"

"A succubus," she says.

"A succubus," I repeat, remembering what Lauren said the night I snuck out of the Clinic, "cool."

I turn back to Lauren, "And I'm going to guess that you have no idea what kind of Fae I am."

"Sorry," Lauren says, "but because you are the first human to turn Fae like this, there is no way to know what kind you are, at least not until your powers start to show."

"I guess that means we'll have to wait," Bo says.

"You can stay at our place," Kenzi offers excitedly.

"You would let me stay at your place? Even after I broke in," I ask.

"Yeah," Bo says," I mean, it's not like you broke or stole anything."

"Besides," Kenzi laughs, "you already know where we live, and apparently the door just unlocks itself for you so we won't even have to give you a key."

This makes Bo and I smile.

"Actually Kenzi," Lauren says, "it would probably be better if she stayed at my place for a while, so I can check her vitals from time to time, make sure she stays stable."

In order to relieve some of the tension in the room I say, "I really don't care where I stay, just as long as it isn't in this hospital."

"Well then it's decided," Bo concludes, "you can stay at Lauren's, but you are welcome at our place any time."

"Thanks," I say.

Even though I know Bo is the person who attacked me, also knowing what the Nain Rouge told me and how nice she and Kenzi have been to me since I "broke" into their home, I really would love to live with Bo and Kenzi.

But when I fall asleep that night, I can still only see Bo with blue eyes.


	6. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's been a while. this chapter is extra long.

I spend a couple weeks at Lauren's, but I don't do a whole lot, I mostly sleep. When Lauren gives me the all clear, I go to live with Bo and Kenzi and I am welcomed with open arms.

"Welcome to the Clubhouse," Kenzi says as she walks me into their home gesturing to everything.

There are still no signs of my Fae powers. I am starting to think that I will never get them. But I am learning so much about the Fae and I am making friends, so I decide to move on and not worry about it, I have found a new home.

But my journey is just beginning.

* * *

 

After the first week of staying at the Clubhouse, I go with Bo and Kenzi to a Fae bar called the Dal. When we walk in, I realize that it was the same bar that I had met the Nain Rouge in, but I decide that it would be best to not tell anyone about that conversation, at least not yet.

We walk over to the bar and sit down. Bo introduces me to the bar tender.

"Jamie, this is Trick. Trick, this is Jamie."

"Oh, so you're this Jamie everyone has been talking about," Trick says as he shakes my hand.

"What do you mean," I ask.

"Word travels fast around here," he says.

"Good to know," I say looking around, taking it all in.

"Word is you're a combination of both Fae and human," he continues.

"Well, I'm definitely not the person to ask about that," I chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess not," he says, "so, how are you handling all this?" He gestures around the room, but it's obvious he means the whole idea of Fae.

"Well, it's very confusing, but I figure if hang around long enough, I'll catch on eventually."

"Yeah, probably." He turns to Bo and says, "Since she isn't technically Fae yet, you will have to claim her until she gets her Fae powers."

"Claim me," I ask.

"Yeah if you aren't Fae, you have to be 'claimed' by someone who is," Kenzi explains," Bo claimed me."

"And I can claim you too," Bo says, "until, like Trick said, you get your Fae powers."

"Okay," I say," so how does it work? Do we both have to sign some sort of contract, or do you just say, 'I claim you,' or what?"

I look around at the three of them, Kenzi, Bo, and Trick, as I ask these questions, Trick smiles and says, "All she has to do is say 'I claim you.' Go ahead Bo."

"I claim you," she says to me.

I look around waiting for something else to happen and when nothing does I say, "well that wasn't as exciting as I had hoped it would be."

Trick laughs then says, "Also once you get your Fae powers, you will need to sign in."

I guess he could tell that I was confused so he adds, "every Fae who enters this bar has to sign in. I have a big book in the back full of thousands of names. You can add yours to it as soon as you get your Fae powers."

"Cool," I say.

After a few drinks Bo and Kenzi leave, but I spend several more hours at the Dal talking with Trick about the Fae and how their system works.

I don't make it home to the clubhouse until around midnight, and I come home to find Kenzi popping popcorn and getting ready to watch a movie.

"Hey Kenz, what's up," I ask.

"Oh not much, just waiting for Bo to get here so we can watch a movie together, but she still hasn't shown up," she responds.

"I'll watch it with you."

"Cool," she says plopping down on the couch with a large popcorn bucket.

I sit down next to her and grab a handful of popcorn out of the bucket. We watch the movie and then we just talk. We talk about Bo, about the Fae, about our lives before the Fae, everything. But I don't tell her about why I started running, I just tell her I ran away.

* * *

The next morning, I wake up and find Kenzi snuggled up on the couch.

"Morning," I say pouring some cereal and milk into a bowl.

"Morning," she says back.

I sit at the kitchen table and eat a spoonful of the cereal then I ask,"Did Bo come home last night?"

"Nope," she says agitated.

But before I even finish my cereal Bo walks in.

"Hello," Bo says tiredly.

"You're a tarty tang," Kenzi says, obviously annoyed.

Bo tosses her keys onto the table and replies, "what, did Kenzi wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"We can't afford beds. Remember, we had a meeting," she snaps, getting up off of the couch.

"Oh, shit. Client," Bo says before she pops a grape into her mouth.

"Yeah, I upload the calendar to your phone, I tape post-it reminders over the sink..."

"Kenzi," Bo says trying to get her attention, unsuccessfully.

"Not to mention the fact that we were going to watch a movie after! Like, dude, I learned how to spreadsheet. Me!" Plopping back down onto the couch, she continues, "Because it's my way of contributing. Somebody's gotta keep you on schedule."

"I'm not a train," Bo says, leaning on the back of the couch.

"No, you're the talent with the great caboose. Do you think I like acting like the adult?" Kenzi asks, looking up at Bo.

"Probably no more than I enjoy being abducted off the street, _2_ hours ago," Bo replies.

Suddenly interested Kenzi says, " _And_ , I'm a dink."

"No, I should have called, once I _earned_ my freedom."

"What happened," asked Kenzi, practically taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Van, dark Fae, potential information about my dad."

"I'm sorry," Kenzi says.

"Fortune cookie," Bo offers, tossing one to Kenzi as she walks to the stairs.

"Now where are you going," Kenzi asks.

"Just bank the outrage for a while, okay," Bo asks, "Mama's too tired to chat. Oh, but could you call Dyson and tell him I'd love to talk? Thanks!"

"Will do," Kenzi chirps sarcastically, "partner."

I swear sometimes it's like I'm invisible around here. I didn't even have the chance to get a word in. But I try to ignore it because I've spent most of my life _trying_ to be invisible.

About an hour later I get a call from Lauren.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Hey, could you swing by my place later for a few more tests," she asks.

"Yeah, sure no problem. I'll be there in a few hours."

"Great! See you then."

"See you then," I say, then I hang up.

"Who was that," Kenzi asks.

"Lauren," I tell her, "she just wants me to come in for a few more tests."

"More needles?"

"Probably."

"Sucks to be you dude."

"Thanks," I say sarcastically.

* * *

Later, I go with Bo and Kenzi to see Dyson at the police station to get some information about their new case.

"So we'll take this image from the security tape," Dyson says, pointing at his computer screen, "and we'll run it through the facial recognition."

Kenzi shoots a rubber band at Dyson hitting him in the back. When both Bo and Dyson turn and look at her she says, "And she wets herself over your geek skills." I can't help but smile at this. Bo looks at her, annoyed.

"My bad." Kenzi says holding her hands up in the air defensively.

They look back at the computer and Dyson types and clicks a few things, then the printer spits out a piece of paper.

"Here it is," Dyson says handing Bo the address.

"See you around?" she asks him.

"Could be."

Bo walks out and I start to follow her but Kenzi says, "Right behind you. Just gotta hit the ladies' room." Then she shoots another rubber band at Dyson.

I decide to hang back to listen.

"Cause I just barfed in my mouth," she says to Dyson, "Dude, I can't believe I backed you with Bo. You made me look like a total tool. And the worst part is, you treated her like shit, but somehow, you're forgiven... That is why I'm no longer on team Dyson."

I realize that the conversation is over and I quickly leave to avoid getting caught. As I leave, I realize just how much Kenzi cares about Bo, and this gives me hope that I could be that close with someone someday.

I get out to the car and ask Bo if she could drop me off at Lauren's.

"Sure, no problem," she says. I thank her and hop into the back seat of the car.

We pull up at Lauren's at about 8 pm and it is already dark out. I get out of the car and thank Bo for the ride, then she pulls away and I am left in the dark. I start to walk across the street towards Lauren's apartment, when a man emerges out of the dark. The first thing I learned when I moved in with Bo and Kenzi was to always carry a knife, so I pull out the knife that Bo gave me.

"Who are you," I demand.

"..." He eyeballs the small purse hanging against my side.

"Who are you and what do you want," I say again.

Then he rushes me. I am able to cut his arm but then another man appears and begins to hold me down. I don't scream. I don't know why I don't scream. The second man then pins my arms behind my back and picks me up off of the ground sending pain shooting through my right arm.

"What do you want," I ask, sounding more panicked and pained than I mean to.

He punches me in the face several times and then another man appears out of the shadows. The third one steps up closer to me and I can make out his face.

He has the face of a pig!

The one that stepped up closer to me punches me in the gut and I can't breathe. Then the one with my arms pinned behind my back drops me to the ground where I cough and gasp for air. The one that punched me in the gut grabs my purse and breaks the strap as he yanks it off of my body. Then they all disappear back into the dark.

I lay there for a few minutes until I am able to breathe again. I then pick myself up off of the ground and limp towards Lauren's apartment.

* * *

I knock on the door a few times and wait.

"Just a second," I hear Lauren shout through the door. I hear her run down the stairs and unlock the door.

"Oh my God, Jamie what happened," she asks when she sees my beat up face. She walks me into her home and locks the door behind us.

"I'm not entirely sure," I say holding my right arm with my left, "but I think I just got mugged, and I think they dislocated my shoulder."

She ushers me to her couch, "By who," she asks as she pulls some antiseptic and long Q-tips out of a cabinet.

"I don't know, but they looked like pigs."

"I bet," she says as she dips a Q-tip into the antiseptic. She dabs it onto one of the cuts on my face.

"Ow, no really, they looked like pigs. Like their faces looked like a pig's face. The nose the teeth, even the ears."

"That's strange, Pigmen don't usually mug people."

"Wait, Pigmen? Is that some sort of Fae species?"

"Yeah, they typically travel in packs, and they typically _only_ attack other Fae," she dabs my cut again with the Q-tip.

"So I guess that means that I'm actually Fae now. I'm really loving it so far," I say with a sarcastic smile. She dabs a different cut and I wince.

She apologizes then says, "Have you shown any signs of your Fae powers yet?"

"Not that I know of," I tell her, "I mean, I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to be looking for."

"Just anything out of the ordinary," she says handing me an ice pack.

I press the cold ice pack to my bruised eye and say, "Like forgetting memories that I would never forget? Like from the attack?"

"Yeah, like that." She pauses for a second, "Wait, when did that happen?"

"When detective Hale came in and questioned me. But I was able to fight it off, I still remember the attack as if it happened yesterday."

"Well, Hale is a Siren, he can change recent memories, but he can't erase them. You said you were able to 'fight it off'? What did you mean by that?"

"I mean, I don't know. I just kept thinking of how the attack really happened instead of the way it was trying to change to. Do you think that could be my power? Resisting other Fae powers?"

"Maybe, but that doesn't explain how you were able to resist Hale's siren whistle? You hadn't changed yet."

"Yeah, that is weird. Well, who the hell knows? Because I certainly don't."

She laughs and continues to clean the wounds on my face.

I shift my body and wince remembering the pain from my dislocated arm.

"Oh, let me pop that shoulder back in for you."

"Could you? That would be great."

"Of course," she says getting up off of the couch, "it's really going to hurt thought." She walks over to a cabinet and pulls out a sling.

"I know, I dislocated it back when I was ten after a run in with some bullies at the orphanage."

She looks at me in a way that says she wants to know more but isn't going to ask, which is good because I don't feel like elaborating, at least, not right now. I really didn't mean to share so much in the first place.

Lauren has me lay on my back on the couch, the she counts to three and begins to put my shoulder back in place. She slowly pulls and rotates my arm slightly causing a lot of pain, partially due to the lack of a numbing agent (damn). I do my best not to squirm and with one final movement of my arm, I feel the joint pop back into place and a sudden absence of pain. "Thanks, that feels much better." I say breathing heavily.

"No problem," she says, "I am a doctor after all." She helps me put on the sling and puts some ice on my shoulder.

I laugh and say, "Yes you are and you called me here to run some more tests. Right?"

"Oh, yeah, right," she says, putting down the antiseptic and Q-tips. She stands up and grabs a few of syringes.

"I will need a few more blood samples."

"Of course you will. You know, I never had a problem with needles before I met you people."

"Sorry," she chuckles.

As she sticks the needle into my arm I have to look away. She takes a total of three blood samples.

"Do you mind if I take a nap while you run the tests?"

"No, not at all," she says, "make yourself at home."

"Thanks," I roll over on my side and close my eyes. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.

* * *

"Jamie," Lauren says, "Jamie, Jamie wake up!" She shakes me awake and I bolt upright.

"What," I ask panting. _I'm sweating._ _Why am I sweating?_

"I think you were having a nightmare or something," she tells me, "you were talking in your sleep."

"What, what did I say?"

"Here I wrote it down, things you say in your sleep can be important depending on what type of Fae you are," she says, holding out a piece of paper.

I take it with my good arm and read it aloud.

"Knife. Blood.

Cold. So cold.

Kenzi.

Soup.

Screaming Banshee.

Sexual shame leads to death?

What the hell is all of this," I ask.

"I'm not sure, but there's more."

"Evil plant that gives money," I continue, "Okay now that doesn't even make any sense," I slap my arm (the one holding the paper) onto my leg in frustration. The look Lauren is giving me says to keep reading, so I do.

"New liar.

Secrets.

Explosion.

Death..."

"And that's when I woke you up," Lauren tells me, "you were really starting to freak me out."

"What do you think it means," I ask her.

"I have no clue. Do you remember what you were dreaming about?"

"No, I don't remember anything," I rub my head," hold on there is something else. Um, big scary spider." Lauren adds it to the list. "But I don't remember any of that other stuff. Just... fear - lots of fear." I shake my head as if it would get rid of the memory. The room is brighter than when I fell asleep, _is it daytime already?_ "How long was I out for," I ask.

"A few hours."

"Are the tests done yet?"

"Almost, just waiting on the computer to finish processing the data and give me the results," she gets up and walks towards her computer.

"Okay. Can I take this with me," I ask holding up the list.

"Sure, "she responds.

"Thanks," I say, then I fold up the paper and stick in in my pocket.

"Could you give me a ride back to the Clubhouse?"

"Of course," she picks her car keys up off the table, "we can go now if you want."

"Yeah, that would be great," I push myself up off the couch with a grunt remembering the pain in my arm. I take off the sling and leave it with Lauren, ignoring the pain coursing through my arm as I do.

On the ride back to the Clubhouse I stare at the list and try to remember what I was dreaming about.

"You know," Lauren says when she sees me staring at the piece of paper, "staring at that list won't do anything."

I sigh and sit the piece of paper in my lap, "I know, but it never hurts to try."

"I guess not," she says.

"I just don't get it," I say bewildered, gesturing with my good arm, "I mean, how can I not have any clue what my nightmare was about? It doesn't make any sense! I mean it made me sweat, -pause - in my sleep! And I was _talking_ in my sleep. I have never talked in my sleep in my life. Well, at least, not that I know of. But, I mean, I don't remember any of it!"

"That's just how dreams work," she says, keeping her eyes on the road, "sometimes you can remember them perfectly, down to, um, the way the wind was blowing. While other times you aren't even sure if you had a dream."

"Is it that way for everyone?"

"No, some people always remember every detail of their dreams, and others don't ever remember their dreams. Some can even control their dreams."

"That sounds cool, but I'm definitely not one of those people." I yawn, "Man I'm tired."

"Well we're here," she says as we pull up to the gate.

I get out still yawning, and say, "Thanks for the ride."

"Sure, it's no problem. Get some rest, and put some more ice on that shoulder."

"Yes ma'am," I say in my corniest western accent, gesturing with my left hand as if I'm tipping my hat.

"See you later," she chuckles.

"Bye," I say with a laugh, then as she backs up and drives off, I walk into the Clubhouse.


	7. It Begins

"Bo! Kenzi! Is anyone home," I shout once I get in the door.

No answer.

"I guess not," I think aloud.

I toss my house keys onto the table and head up the stairs towards Bo's room, tossing my phone onto her bed. I am startled when I see the reflection of a man, whom I have never seen before, in Bo's bedroom mirror. I spin around to face him, gasping as I do so. But before I can even realize what is happening, he charges towards me and stabs me in the gut with a dagger. He whispers in my ear and says, "Your friends ruined my life, now I am going to take you from them." As he steps away from me, he pulls out the dagger and just watches me. He watches me press my hands against the wound he has inflicted on me, then he takes off and runs away like a coward.

_Have I been fed on by a luck Fae recently or do I just have the worst luck ever?_

My legs become weak and I fall to the floor, but I won't give up without a fight. I remember that I had tossed my phone onto Bo's bed, I can see it from where I am lying on the floor, so I take a couple of deep breaths and begin to drag myself across the hardwood floor. Each pull more painful than the last and even more challenging with my recently injured right arm. When I finally get to the foot of the bed I am very tired, so I rest for a few seconds and take a few deep breaths. Then I reach my left arm up over the foot of the bed and feel around for my phone. Unfortunately, it is just out of reach. Completely sapped of all my strength and energy, I collapse back onto the floor, and my last thought before I pass out is, " _of all the crap I've been through, I can't believe that I am going to die by bleeding out on the floor of the only place I have ever truly called home_."

* * *

 

I don't know how much time has passed, but all of a sudden I can see my phone sitting on Bo's bed and my bloody body lying on the floor. I look at my flashing phone and see that I have 12 missed calls.

My phone starts ringing, making me jump. It's Bo calling, but when I go to pick up my phone to answer, my hand goes right through it and into the bed.

I realize that I can't pick up or touch anything, like I’m a ghost.

My phone stops ringing, and as soon as it does, I hear the front door to the clubhouse open. I suddenly appear downstairs and see that it is Bo and Kenzi. 

"Jamie," they call out in unison.

"Are you here," Bo shouts.

"Yes I'm here," I say, "hurry I'm upstairs." When they don't acknowledge that I’m there, I remember that since I am a ghost, they won't be able to hear me.

"Try calling her again," Kenzi says to Bo, "maybe she just forgot her cell," she's trying to sound hopeful.

"I hope so," Bo responds, pulling out her phone. She hits the 5 on her speed dial and puts her phone up to her ear.

"I hear her phone," Kenzi says, "listen."

Bo moves her phone away from her ear and listens. 

"Upstairs," Bo says, she switches her phone into her left hand and pulls out the dagger strapped to her leg and begins to slowly climb the stairs to her bedroom. Realizing that they might have to fight, Kenzi grabs her sword, Geraldine, off the kitchen table and follows Bo up the stairs.

I somehow end up standing over my body again before they even finish climbing the stairs. As they get to the top of the stairs Bo ends the call and hands her phone to Kenzi who sticks it in her boot. Weapons at the ready they both turn the corner and see my body lying on the floor.

"Oh my God, JJ," says Kenzi completely shocked.

"Call Lauren," Bo says as she rushes over to my body. Kenzi nods as she tosses Geraldine to the ground, grabs Bo's phone out of her boot and calls Lauren.

I turn my attention to Bo who flips my body onto its back and presses one of her hands onto the wound and uses the other to take a pulse.

"Thank goddess Lauren taught me how to do the basics," she says to herself as she feels for a pulse. When she can't find one she shouts, "She’s not breathing and there's no pulse," over towards Kenzi and begins CPR.

"Lauren says to get her there and she will prep for surgery..." Bo opens her mouth to say something but Kenzi cuts her off, "I already texted Dyson, he said he can be here in 3 minutes."

"She might not have 3 minutes," Bo says frustrated as she feels for a pulse again, "still nothing!" She goes back to the CPR.

"Can't you succubus her or something?"

"It doesn't work like that Kenz,"

"Can't you at least try?"

Bo stops the CPR and looks at Kenzi. She smiles as her eyes flash blue and Kenzi grins encouragingly. Bo starts trying to breathe her chi into my practically dead body.

Unsuccessfully.

"Come on Bo, you can do it," Kenzi encourages.

"It's not going to work Kenz," she says," I can't just give her my own chi, my body won't let me, I have to get the chi from somewhere else."

"Take some of mine," Kenzi says.

"Kenzi, I won't do that, I don't even know if it will work."

"You have to try," Kenzi pleads, “you can't just let her die!"

"Okay," Bo says after a few seconds of thought. Then she sucks some of the chi out of Kenzi.

"You good," she asks Kenzi.

"Yeah, I'm good," Kenzi replies.

Bo nods and takes a deep breath, then tries again. I can see the chi going into my body in a steady stream. I feel myself getting pulled towards my body, and even though I know she can't hear me I shout my own words of encouragement, "It's working Bo, keep going!" After a few more seconds I get pulled back into my body and I start gasping for air. Bo stops giving me her chi and sits my head on her lap as I choke and cough on my own blood.

I hear the door burst open downstairs, then Dyson shouts, "Bo? Kenzi?"

"We're up here," Bo shouts back.

Once my throat is finally clear, I take several deep breaths and I feel someone take my hand and pat my leg, Kenzi. I hear Dyson rush up the stairs and enter the room, his pace slows and he walks over towards us. I start to open my eyes but all I can see are the fuzzy outlines of Bo, Kenzi, and Dyson. I blink a few times and the image clears, I can see that they all have looks of both joy and worry in their eyes.

I look at Bo and say weakly, "you taste like strawberries." They all laugh and Bo says with tears in her eyes,

"Trick got a new shipment of wine in today."

"What happened," I ask then I wince, remembering the extreme pain in my abdomen which has taken precedence over the now dull pain in my shoulder. 

"I don't know," Bo says as she presses a hand to my wound, which is once again bleeding profusely, sending streaks of pain in every direction, “I was going to ask you the same question."

"We need to take her to Lauren," Dyson says. He says something to Kenzi that I can’t hear, then she lets go of my hand and takes off down the stairs.

"Yeah," Bo says.

She removes her hand from my wound, gently moves my head off of her legs and stands up. I put pressure on my wound with my own hand doing my best to ignore the pain. Dyson kneels down next to me and puts one arm under my legs and the other under my back and picks me up. I cry out from the pain, the edges of my vision turning black. I remove my left hand from my wound and put as much pressure back on it with my right as I can, then I wrap my left arm around Dyson's neck to help him carry me (not that he needs the help). Kenzi returns holding a small stack of towels.

"Jamie take a couple of those and use them to soak up some of the blood," Dyson says.

I do what he says and then we all walk down the stairs and out of the clubhouse. Kenzi covers the backseat of Dyson's truck with towels as he carries me to the car. He gently lays me in the back seat then Kenzi gets in with me, laying my head on her lap like Bo had earlier. Bo sits in the passenger’s seat while Dyson drives. Kenzi pats my head and does her best to try and keep me awake.

“Jamie, stay with me,” she says, “don’t close your eyes. Just keep looking at me.”

I feel my eyes start to close, “Jamie. Jamie!” Kenzi shouts, shaking me, “Damn it Jamie open your eyes!” 

Her voice is shaky and filled with worry. I try to open my eyes for her, but I am so weak that I can’t. However, I keep trying because I am worried that I won’t wake up. I’m worried that I will never see my  ~~friends~~  family again. I am plunged into darkness and Kenzi’s voice fades away. 

I couldn’t have been out long because when I drift back into consciousness we are still in Dyson’s car. The first thing I see are Kenzi’s gorgeous eyes, which at the moment look turquoise.  _Which isn’t a bad thing to wake up to if you ask me_. Unfortunately, they are filled with worry, at least, that is until she sees I’m awake and they fill with relief. 

“She’s awake,” she tells Bo and Dyson, “I thought we lost you there.” 

“Sorry.” I groan.

“We’re almost to The Clinic, just hold on.”

I feel the truck jerk as it speeds into the Clinic’s parking lot, then again when it stops suddenly.

Dyson puts it in park and he and Bo quickly get out. Bo opens the door and Kenzi gets out gently sitting my head on the seat. Dyson gets in and picks me up like he did earlier and my vision blurs. I don’t even have the strength to winch from the pain. He carries me out of the truck and gently lays me on a stretcher. I look up and see the golden locks of one Dr. Lewis. 

“We are ready for her in surgery,” she tells Bo, Dyson, and Kenzi, “we will do everything we can.” She grabs the stretcher and along with about four other nurses, wheels me into the Clinic.

One of the nurses puts a mask over my face as we rush down the hall, “take as deep of breaths as you can. You’ll start to fall asleep, but don’t fight it. You’re in good hands,” he says.

“I know.” I say looking at Lauren, who is focused on something down the hall. I try to take a deep breath, but I can’t, and my attempt simply saps the rest of my strength. My exhaustion combined with whatever is coming out of the mask causes everything to fade away once more. But this time I don’t feel afraid or worried. I feel safe, I feel like everything is going to be okay.

* * *

Once again, I wake up in the hospital. 

"Ugh, I just can't get out of this place," I groan to myself. I am alone in the room; the only sound is the steady beeping of the heart monitor I am hooked up to. I lift my head up a little to look around and sparks of pain surge through my body. My body is all stiff and sore. I lay my head back down and l just rest there quietly for a few minutes.

I must have dozed off because I wake up to the sound of the doors to my room opening.

A nurse, who I've never seen before, walks in looking down at a clipboard. She is average height, wearing glasses, has her long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, and is dressed in scrubs. She checks the heart monitor and writes on the clipboard, then she turns and looks at me.

"Oh!" She jumps, "you startled me."

_Obviously, "_ sorry," I say.

"That's alright," she scribbles out what she wrote on the clipboard next to my name, "I will be right back, I am going to tell Dr. Lewis that you are awake." Then she hurries out of the room. About 10 minutes later, Lauren comes through the door.

"Thank goodness you’re awake. I was worried you were never going to wake up."

That doesn't sound good, "what do you mean?"

"The nurse didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Now I'm really worried.

"You've been in a coma," she says, "for almost three months."

I go wide eyed and my mouth drops open. I feel like the wind has just been knocked out of me. I let out a deep breath then close my mouth. "Three months? I was in a coma for three months?" The heart monitor beeps at my increased heart rate.

"Yeah."

"What happened to me?"

"I'm not sure, Bo and Kenzi found you practically dead," I see a flash of an image of my bloody body lying on the floor, with Bo kneeling next to it and Kenzi on the phone," and got you here to the hospital where you were rushed into surgery barely conscious and not able to breath on your own." I see another flash, this time of a nurse holding an oxygen mask on my face. "The surgeon," Lauren continues," stitched you up and tried to fix all of the affected organs the best he could. But you didn't wake up after the surgery. We were so worried."

"We?"

"Me, Kenzi, Bo, Trick, Dyson, even Hale. We were all so worried. Bo and Kenzi are on their way here as we speak."

"What all did I miss?"

"Quite a lot actually, but I will let Bo and Kenzi tell you when they get here.”

Just then Bo and Kenzi burst through the door with big smiles on their faces.

"Well that was fast," Lauren says.

"We were in the neighborhood," Bo replies. 

"I will give you all some time together," Lauren says as she walks out of the room.

"We are so happy you’re okay," Kenzi says as she runs over and hugs me.

"Ah," I groan.

"Oh, sorry," Kenzi says.

"No, it's ok. I'm just a little sore. So, I hear a lot happened while I was out."

"Yeah, you could say that," Bo says.

"'A lot would be an understatement," Kenzi says.

"A banshee wailed, and there was an evil plant thing," Bo tells me.

"Interesting."

"Yeah, also I ate this gross foot soup and almost died. It was freaky," Kenzi says.

"Gross."

"Tell me about it," Kenzi says, "oh, there was also this Incubus that attacked Bo."

"An Incubus?" I ask.

"Kind of like a succubus," Bo says, "but instead of feeding off of sexual pleasure, it feeds off of sexual shame."

"Yeah, he was a real creep," Kenzi adds.

"Sure sounds like it."

"I made a new friend," Bo says sarcastically," she said her name was Saskia, but as it turns out her name is actually Aife and she's my mother."

"Not to mention the fact that Dyson and Trick knew who her mom was all along," Kenzi says.

"Wow, that's a big one" I say shocked.

"I know right, then Aife went and blew up a light Fae house, killing ‘Ash who talks like Batman’ and a bunch of other high power Fae." Kenzi says.

"Damn," I say, then there is a short pause in conversation. All these things sound familiar. "Um, Bo, this is going to sound weird, but that evil plant thing, did it  _give money_?"

"Yeah," Bo says, "in a way, it was a Land Wight, it grew food and the people who ate it had a lot of success money wise."

"Wait," Kenzi says, "how did you know that?"

"I thought all of this stuff you were telling me sounded familiar."

"What do you mean?" Bo asks

"I'll explain, but first,” I quickly glance around the room. ” Where are the clothes I was wearing when I came here?"

"Over here," Bo says, "Lauren cleaned them as best she could then she put the stuff in the pockets back where they were." My clothes are folded neatly and are sitting on the counter.

"Can you bring me my pants?" I ask. I sit up with a few grunts and groans and with a little help from Kenzi.

"Sure," Bo says, she walks over and hands me my blue jeans. I check all of the pockets and find a folded up piece of paper in the back right pocket.

"What is that?" Kenzi asks.

"It's a list," I tell them, "a list Lauren and I made before, well, before my three-month nap." I unfold the list and read it silently. "I knew it! I knew that stuff sounded familiar."

"What do you mean?" Bo asks.

I hand Kenzi the list and she reads it aloud.

"Knife. Blood.

Cold. So cold.

Kenzi.

Soup.

Screaming Banshee.

Sexual shame leads to death

Evil plant that gives money

New liar.

Secrets.

Explosion.

Death, death

Big scary spider"

"Jamie," Bo asks, "you said this list was made before your coma?"

"Yeah, and the only thing on it that hasn't happened is that last one." I say.

"Big scary spider," Kenzi says, “that sounds like fun.”

"I still don't get it," Bo says, "how?"

"I'll let Lauren explain," I tell her.

We get Lauren and she tells them about how she made the list of the things I said in my sleep.

"That's crazy," Bo says.

"You think that could be your Fae power," Kenzi asks me.

"Maybe."

"That would be so cool!" Kenzi says excited.

"Yeah, think of the possibilities,” I say.

“First we could run through some of the local casinos,” Kenzi says, “then- “

“We aren’t going to any casinos,” Bo interrupts her.

“You’re no fun,” Kenzi says.

” We aren’t thieves Kenzi,” Bo tells her, “And using psychic skills in a casino, falls into the same category robbing a store or running a scam.”

“I know, I know.”

“So Dr. Lewis,” I say changing the subject, “how much longer do I have to stay this time?”

” If everything goes well,” she laughs looking at the clipboard in her hand,” I would say a few days. A week at most.”

 


	8. ArachnoFaebia

**Three days later...**

"Welcome home," Kenzi says as we walk into the clubhouse. Nothing has changed.

"It feels good to be home," I say.

"You hungry? You haven't really eaten anything for, well, three months."

"Yeah, some pizza sounds amazing," I tell her.

"I'll make the call," Bo says, grabbing the phone off the counter.

About 30 minutes later there is a knock on the outside door of the clubhouse.

"I got it," Kenzi says. She opens the inner door, walks down the short hallway, and opens the outer door.

"So, pizza Pete," she says a few seconds later, walking the attractive pizza man through the inner door, "how's the day job?"

"Soul-sucking," he replies, "though, I do have an audition tomorrow. Power tools commercial."

"You will  _nail_  it," she says not missing a beat, "you see what I did there?"

"Hi," Pete says to Bo as she walks towards them.

"Hey," she responds, then she turns to Kenzi and asks, "Is this guy up in your grill?"

"Oh not yet, but the night is still  _very_  young," she responds, not looking away from Pete who is entranced, staring at Bo.

Annoyed and rolling her eyes, Bo says, “less blah," she grabs the pizza box from Pete and hands it to Kenzi, "more za." Her eyes turn blue and she uses her power to guide Pete towards the door. "And, uh, next time, think 'double cheese' Phil."

"It's, uh, Pete," he says.

"Whatever."

"And I love you."

"Mm-hmm, bye," she says to him as she pushes him out the door, waves, and closes the door behind him.

Kenzi opens the pizza box and we both grab a slice. 

Bo walks back towards us and Kenzi looks away from her.

"What?" Bo asks her.

"I was getting my flirt on," she responds with her mouth full.

"With the pizza delivery dude,” Bo asks, taking a bite of pizza.

"He is an  _actor_."

"Oh, great."

"Okay," Kenzi continues, "and I'm pretty sure his crust is double-stuffed, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I wish I didn't." Bo says, taking the words out of my mouth.

"It's so easy for you," Kenzi says, “I wish I had man slaves who did whatever I want."

"Well, some things are easy for you, like confusing the table with the sink," Bo says handing Kenzi a bowl,” and the laundry hamper."

"I'm not the one who leaves weapons around," Kenzi retaliates, picking up an axe off of the table to prove her point, "okay? Were you planning to chop some wood?"

I can't help but smile at this.

"That is forprotection -  _our_ protection." 

Kenzi rolls her eyes as she lays down the axe. Then she picks some clothes up off the table and says, "Well, consider this  _our_  laundry." She tosses the clothes onto the floor.

"You know what," Bo says," this is our first fight, our first real fight."

"Mazel tov?" Kenzi says unsurely.

"It's like were real-life sisters," Bo says, pulling Kenzi into a hug.

"For walking Viagra you're such a nerd." Kenzi says hugging Bo back.

"Well not to belabor the point," I say picking up a dirty frying pan and handing it to Kenzi as she separates from Bo's grasp," but I did find rat droppings this morning."

Disgusted she says, “okay, maybe I will take away these dishes, but not because you told me to, scary dish Nazis."

"Hey, we're picky not psychotic." Bo says.

"Family is always psychotic," Kenzi replies.

I guess that means I'm a part of the family now.

~~~

A few hours later I walk down the stairs to find Kenzi rushing around dressed like a stereotypical gypsy.

"You're meeting Lauren for drinks later" She says to Bo.

"Right," Bo confirms. She is sitting on a red stool in the middle of the room on the brink of laughter.

"So you don't have to come with me." Kenzi continues.

"Sure." Bo says, but it's clear that she is still planning to go with Kenzi.

"It's just business, a little side venture."

"Okay."

"Have you seen my dream catcher?" She walks past Bo towards the couch and Bo holds up a dream catcher by its string. When Kenzi turns and sees it she says, "no my big one."

"Oh, I am  _so_ coming for this." Bo laughs.

"Yeah, me too," I say intrigued, “whatever  _this_  is."

"Just be cool," she says to us, "okay?"

"Well," Bo responds, “some of us have to be."

Kenzi gives her a look of annoyance and continues looking for her big dream catcher and when she can't find it, she settles for the regular sized one, "I guess this one will have to do."

When we get to Kenzi's "side venture" there is yellow crime scene tape across the entrance to the house. 

Never a good sign.

As we walk up to the realtor of the house, imitating a European accent, Kenzi says,

"Namaste, you must be Cheryl Fields."

"My friend Bonnie raved about the smudging that you did at that former co-op," Cheryl says, "Thanks for doing this on such short notice."

"My time is fluid," Kenzi says, tossing her purse onto a chest near the door, "all time is really." She is waving her hands around and sniffing the air to seem in character.

"The heirs insisted on a complete cleansing before I officially put it on the market."

"Well, the place certainly needs it," Bo tells her glancing around the room.

"What happened here anyway?" I ask.

The house is covered in cobwebs making look as if no one has lived in it, or at least dusted, in a while.

"A messy incident about a week ago," Cheryl responds, not elaborating beyond that.

"Do not mind my assistants," Kenzi says, still in character, "they are very intuitive but have the tact of grizzly bears."

"Of course, Shaman... Czigany," Cheryl struggles with the pronunciation of the last name.

Kenzi walks over to Bo and Bo asks in a whisper, "Shaman?"

"Please do shut up and light the sage stick." Kenzi whispers back, handing Bo a long curved lighter. Bo lights the sage stick with a fake smile on her face, then Kenzi turns to Cheryl and says," Do not worry. We will cleanse this place of all residual evil forces."

"God bless you." Cheryl says relieved.

"Goddess," Kenzi says waving the smoke from the burning sage stick towards Cheryl," bless us all." She then begins to walk around the room flailing her arms and babbling in a foreign language while the three of us watch her in awe. It takes every bit of me to not burst out into laughter.

I start to feel dizzy and have to lean up against the wall to remain upright. I see flashes of images that leave a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Bo looks over and walks towards me, causing Cheryl to see me as well, she appears worried.

"Are you okay?" She asks me.

"Yeah," I lie, "just a little light headed, I'll be okay."

Suddenly Kenzi stops babbling and drops to her knees, which fortunately pulls their attention away from me, then shuddering and out of breath she says," To the west our best. To the east be released. To the south. To the north. All spirits, go forth!" She pants then takes a deep breath and collapses backwards. She pretends to be unconscious for a few seconds, meanwhile Cheryl looks at Bo and I in shock, and then she gasps and wearily sits up.

"Oh, are you okay?" Bo asks trying to sound concerned while helping her Kenzi to her feet. Cheryl just stands there mouth agape, speechless. I silently applaud Kenzi's performance while doing my best to hold back my laughter.

"Oh, I am so sorry," Kenzi says trying to catch her breath," oh, it just takes so much out of me."

I see flashes of a large spider and it sends chills down my spine.

"Thank you Sequoia." Kenzi says to Bo.

"No, no thank you." Bo says back.

"The dwelling has been cleansed," Kenzi gasps, still in character, "there will be no more darkness here."

"Oh, so I can list it with a guilt free conscience," Cheryl chuckles with relief," good thing. The neighborhood prices are sky rocketing."

"So are my commissions," Kenzi says, not missing a beat.

"Yes, of course. Um, cash?" Cheryl asks reaching into her purse.

"Yes, please." Kenzi says, dropping the fake accent.

"Thank you." Cheryl says holding out the money, clearly missing the loss of accent.

Kenzi takes the money then grabs her purse and heads for the door.

Once we leave the house, Dyson and Hale are waiting outside. I can't seem to concentrate enough to understand what they're saying but I catch bits and pieces.

"I smell bacon," Kenzi says in a country accent.

Words are exchanged between Bo and Dyson, and Kenzi walks around Bo's yellow convertible, the top of which is down, to the passenger side. Hale goes around the back of the car and says something to her, she responds, he laughs, and then she says reluctantly, "I will cut you in at five percent."

"As you were." He says, then they high five.

I jump into the backseat of the car and as Bo opens the driver side door I hear Dyson ask her to meet him at the Dal and she replies," Maybe." She shuts the door and starts the car.

I hold my pounding head in my hands.

"You okay?" Kenzi asks.

"I've got a killer headache," I tell her.

"You want me to drop you at the Clinic?" Bo offers.

"No that's okay," I tell her," but if you could drop me at home, that would be great. I think I just need to lay down for a little bit, get some rest."

"Yeah, of course." Bo says, then she shifts the car into reverse, backs out of the driveway, and heads towards home.

~~~

I wave goodbye to Bo and Kenzi as they pull away leaving me at the house. Once I get inside I grab a soda out of the fridge and crack it open, taking a sip of it and shuddering at the feeling of the carbonated beverage sliding down my throat. I open one of the drawers and pull out a bottle of Tylenol and take 2 of them. Then I open a bag of chips sitting on the table and carry both the bag and the soda over to the table between the couch and the TV. I grab the remote and flip the TV on. I plop down on the couch and eat my snack while I flip through the channels looking for something good on. When I can't find anything I give up and turn off the TV. My head is still pounding so I grab a blanket and try to take a nap, it doesn't take me long to fall asleep.

~~~

I wake up the next morning to the sound of Kenzi's voice.

"A natural source of minerals and vitamins." She says.

I groan and flip from my stomach onto my back on the couch. My head pounding even harder than it was yesterday, so every sound is amplified by about 10. I rub my head as I sit up to look over the back of the couch at her.

"What?" I ask.

"Toastie Bun Buns," she tells me, "they are a natural source of vitamins and minerals. At least that's what the box says."

"So no Vicodin?"

"I wish," she groans, "my head is killing me."

"Yeah, mine too." I say. She starts to look around the room like she hears something. "What is it?" I ask her.

"I don't know.... Bo!" She shouts. 

I wince at the sudden and very loud sound then I look towards the staircase waiting to hear Bo's response, but instead I hear Kenzi gasp. I look back towards her and see Bo standing in the kitchen just a few feet from Kenzi.

"Whoa," I say, "how'd you do that?"

She doesn't answer me. Instead she groans and walks over to the table, which is cluttered with all sorts of stuff. As she sits on one of the stools she says, "I must've had more to drink last night than I thought. My head is throbbing." She rests her elbows on the table and holds her head.

"Mine, too." Kenzi says.

"Mine, three." I say, walking over to the table and occupying another stool.

Kenzi starts looking around again and asks, "do you hear that?"

"What?" Bo says annoyed.

"I don't know," she says, spooning more cereal into her mouth, "sounds like -- like whispering kids or giggling elves. Did you bring elves home last night? I'm not judging, I just want to know."

"All I hear is somebody who will not chew with her mouth shut." Bo snaps. "Ohh, I'm sorry Kenz," she groans, scratching her shoulder, "I just -- I feel so  _ugh."_

"Might be worth a visit to Lauren," Kenzi suggests.

"Yeah," I say, "definitely."

 ~~~

We get to the Clinic and after doing some basic check up stuff on Bo, Lauren says, "well, physically you're fine-" 

"-but emotionally I'm a level 10 harpy." Bo finishes.

An object slams in the corner of the room and a nurse (actually the same nurse that I startled when I first came out of my coma) glares at Bo as she angrily storms out of the room.

"Is she--" I say.

"--of the Boston harpies." Lauren answers.

"Great." Bo says.

"The headaches, the tiredness, the short temper, you can chalk that up to the injections." Lauren continues.

Kenzi, who had stopped to talk to a nurse on the way in, barges into the room and says, "Doc, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure," Lauren says as Kenzi pulls her to the side.

"My head is pounding harder than a sailor on shore leave." Kenzi tells her.

"Your photosensitivity looks heightened," Lauren says, examining Kenzi's eyes, "you could be fighting off a flu. But seeing that all three of you are sick, I would have to say that there is something in your environment causing these symptoms. Mold? Asbestos?"

"Maybe a butt load of food-encrusted dishes lying around." Bo snaps at Kenzi.

"You ready to rumble?" Kenzi fires back.

"No, you go ahead," Bo says, putting on her jacket, "I have to go help Dyson with a case."

"Okay." Kenzi snaps, storming out the door behind Bo, leaving Lauren and I dumbfounded and confused. 

"What the hell was that?" Lauren's asks me.

"I have no idea," I say, "but they've bickering like that a lot lately."

"Bickering?"

"Yeah, arguing about little things. Mostly cleanliness."

"That's strange." Lauren says, staring at the door deep in though.

"Yeah, very," I say, "I'll do my best to keep them from killing each other." 

I spend about an hour at the Clinic talking to Lauren about different types of Fae before I call a cab to take me home.

On my way home I get a call from Dyson telling me about a creature called the Djieien. Which is basically a giant spider whose venom causes paranoia and eventually homicidal rage.  _Sounds fun._  Also that it has a hold on Bo and Kenzi, and that I need to get to the clubhouse and keep them from actually killing each other until Lauren and Dyson can track down the heart of the Djieien so that we can kill it.

"How much longer until we get there?" I ask the cab driver.

"I don't know, about 10 minutes." He says.

"Make it 5 and I'll pay double."

5 minutes later we speed up to the clubhouse. "Thanks." I say as I throw the cab driver way more money than I owe him and jump out of the cab. 

As I run up to the door I send Dyson a text letting him know that I'm there. I get to the outside door and I pause for a few seconds with my hand on the door knob. I take a few deep breaths and say, "here we go," then I turn the door knob and step into a very dangerous situation.

 

* * *

 

"Hello!" I shout as I walk into the living room, "Bo!? Kenzi!?" Kenzi jumps out from behind the couch wielding Geraldine, "whoa whoa, slow down Kenz. It's just me." She's distracted, but she seems to realize that it's me. However, she won't look at me, she just keeps looking around the room.

"Kenz, look at me," I say snapping my fingers, trying to get her attention, "Kenzi!" I say louder. She finally makes eye contact with me.

"What?" She says annoyed.

"I was just wondering if you had seen any raunchy ass spiders hanging around the clubhouse lately?"

I "sense" something behind me and duck just in time to dodge Bo's attack with a frying pan. I grab her arm when she goes to swing it back at me. "Really? A frying pan?" I ask her.

"Bo, what the hell are you doing?" Kenzi asks.

"She knew about the spider." Bo says still in my grasp ,"She's in on it."

"Totally." Kenzi says, "Good thinking." Then she tosses Geraldine to the floor and grabs the frying pan that is still in Bo's hand as her weapon instead. She hits me in the gut with it causing me to release Bo's arm. Bo is then free to punch me in the face. Kenzi tosses her the frying pan, which she catches by the handle and hits me directly in the face with. 

I fall to the floor and add this to the number of times I've been rendered unconscious, in one way or another, since I met these people. I make a mental note to have Lauren check to make sure my brain still functions like it's supposed to ASAP.

 

I wake up to Bo and Kenzi arguing. I'm also tied to a chair with Saran Wrap. 

_Seriously. Saran Wrap. This is definitely a new one._

I lift my head up to look around and see the full scale of the situation I'm in. Kenzi is on the defensive it seems, and Bo is advancing on her.

"I always knew this day would come," Kenzi says her voice is quick and higher pitch than normal. She's afraid, "when you'd get hungry enough that you'd just eat my face!" She is holding a bat in an attempt to defend herself.

"Put the bat down," Bo says, completely calm, "this won't hurt--much." She takes a step towards Kenzi and Kenzi takes off up the stairs. "Fine. Be like that." Bo shouts after her.

She pauses for a second then turns to face me.

"Bo?" I say.

"I need to feed," she tells me, "I'm sick and I need to feed."

"Yes, you are sick. It's because of this spider Fae thing called a Djieien. It's infected both you and Kenzi."

"Well that means I need to heal." 

"But I'm not completely Fae yet," I tell her," at least I don't think I am. Which means I can't stop you, I can't resist you. It means you could kill me."

"Well, that's just a risk you're going to have to take," she says. Then she grabs my head and straddles me in the chair. She sends pulses of heat through my body with every touch and it becomes impossible to resist her. She begins to suck the chi from my body. We are staring into each other's eyes and I can see her expression change as she heals. I see the moment she becomes herself again. But she doesn't stop when she is back to herself, she keeps going. She actually becomes more aggressive. I can feel the life start to drain from my body. I know I don't have much longer. I have to do something.

I put all of the strength I have left into resisting her. I'm able to resist her enough that I can choke out a few words.

"Bo--" I strain, "killing-- me."

She realizes what I am saying and is able to force herself off of me. Breaking the chi line between us. I gasp for air and take deep breaths as she does the same.

"What the hell?" She says.

"I was wondering the same thing." 

"I-- I don't know," she says confused, "I've never tasted chi like that before. It was amazing!"

"Well it wasn't that great for me. At least the end wasn't."

"Sorry." She pauses for a second and remembers why she needed to heal in the first place, "I'm going to get help." Then she takes off into the corridor leading to the main door.

About a minute later I hear her say, "That's insane." Then she comes back into the room. "We've been quarantined." She tells me.

"Well that's great," I say sarcastically. 

Bo paces back and forth in front of me for a few seconds before saying, "I'm going to call Dyson. See if he can help us somehow."  She pull out her phone and heads back into the corridor.

I'm left alone again, still Saran Wrapped to a chair. "I'm sure I'll look back on this experience one day and laugh." I tell myself. A couple minutes later I see, out of the corner of my eye, the Djieien crawl into the room.

"Shit." I don't have the strength to say anything else. The exhaustion from the past few months and the chi suck from a few minutes ago hit me like a train. The Djieien crawls towards me and up my leg, I try to shake it off but I'm bound so tightly to the chair that I can't move. 

It sinks it's fangs into my thigh as Bo walks back into the room. "Dyson I have to go, hurry up and find that damn heart!" She says quickly, hanging up the phone. She throws it across the room and onto the couch. Then she picks up a shovel that had been leaning against the wall and slowly walks towards me with it raised high. Not slowly enough apparently, because the Djieien quickly scurries away and down the basement stairs. Bo bends over to check on me.

"Go on." I tell her, "Go kill that creepy ass spider." 

Then once again I'm unconscious.            

~~~

I wake to the sound of someone banging on a door. 

"Kenzi? You..." Bo's voice is muffled.

Kenzi walks around from behind me and tosses her baseball bat onto the floor. My head is foggy, so I can't really focus on anything.

"You gotta open the door, okay?" Bo continues to shout through the closed door, " you need help! Are you listening to me?"

Kenzi has knelt down in front of me and is now unwrapping the Saran Wrap that is holding my legs to the chair.

"Don't worry," she says,"I locked Bo in the basement. You're lucky she didn't Hannibal Lector your lips off."

I don't think I'm focusing on her.  _Am I even looking at her?_

My suspicions are confirmed when Kenzi lightly slaps my face and then grabs and angles it so that I am looking at her. "Focus." She tells me. I nod my head up and down, then she lets go of my head and continues to untie me. "The front door is bricked off," she tells me, "you clearly know some secret way in and out of here." She pulls off the last of the Saran Wrap, freeing me from my restraints, then she grabs and angles my head again.

"You take me with you," she proposes, "I'll let you live, okay?"

I nod my head yes again, and she again releases it, standing up as she does so. Then she picks her bat back up, ready to defend herself if necessary.

Bo isn't shouting and banging on the door anymore, so I assume she gave up and is trying something else.

It is clear that Kenzi is at the tipping point, so I know I have to approach this carefully and think about what I do/say before I do it.

"You'd pick me over Bo, right, Jamie?" Kenzi asks, "You're on my side?"

"Of course, Kenz. Of course." I point to the staircase behind her, "the secret way out."

She shakily backs towards the staircase and glances up the stairs. I use these couple seconds, where she isn't looking at me, to arm myself in case she decides to use that bat. So, I crouch down and grab a hatchet off the floor.

_Why do they leave this stuff just lying around?_

She turns back and looks at me just as I stand up. "After you." I say.

She nods and chuckles, "okay," then heads up the stairs. 

I realize that I have quite a dilemma: I don't know a "secret way out," because there isn't one. I came in through the front door!

_I guess I'm just going to have to stall until someone can kill that damn spider. Hopefully Kenzi will be immediately cured when that happens. Wishful thinking, I know._

We get to the top of the stairs and walk into Bo's bedroom, "just a bit further" I tell her, still stalling.

"The secret way out is through Bo's bedroom?" She asks.

"Yep."

The way Bo's bedroom is set up is when you first get up the stairs you have to walk past the bathtub then through a set of decorative doors that latch together to get into her actual  _bed_ room. Fortunately those decorative doors lock from the outside.

I follow Kenzi up the stairs so she is leading. Once she is through the decorative doors I fall back and quickly, but quietly, pull the doors shut and latch them. However, this really pisses her off.

"What the hell, Jamie?" She rages.

"I'm sorry Kenz, but this is for your own good."

"What do you mean for my own good?" She lifts the bat that is still in her hands and begins to smash the doors with them. I hope that they will hold long enough.

"This is to keep you from doing anything you might regret."

"Oh, trust me, I'm not going to regret this!" She continues bashing the door with the bat, effectively breaking through some of the glass windows enough for her to reach through and unlatch the doors.

I pull out the hatchet I picked up earlier. "What were you planning on using  _that_  for?" She taunts, swinging the doors open.

"I'm hoping I won't have to. I really don't want to hurt you."

"Oh, but I  _really_  want to hurt you."

She quickly steps towards me and swings the bat at me, but I block it with the hatchet pushing the bat back towards her. She comes at me again and successfully knocks the hatchet out of my hand and it scatters across the floor leaving me without a weapon. She goes to deliver the final blow: a hard swing straight down, but I grab it and rip it from her hands. Then I toss it to the floor as well.

"Oh well," she says, " I'd much rather shoot you than beat you to death." Then she reaches in a drawer, pulls out a gun, and aims it right at my head.

I put my hands up, "Kenzi, it's me."

"Yeah," she says, "that's why I'm gonna give you a ten second head start,  _roomie. One... Two..."_

"Shit." I turn and take off down the stairs. When I get to the bottom I look for some weapon to defend myself but of course, when I need one, there isn't some random weapon lying around. I hear the gun cock behind me and turn around to face Kenzi.

"Come on, Kenz, fight it!"

She aims down and fires a shot right into my thigh. I feel it rip through my flesh and embed itself into my bone. I cry out as I fall to the floor. Kenzi steps closer to line up her final shot when Bo comes out of nowhere and holds Geraldine to Kenzi's neck stopping her in her tracks.

"You stay back," Bo tells her. I apply as much pressure to my wound as I can and hope my two best friends don't kill each.

I see the Djieien crawl into the room when it suddenly screeches and rears back. Barely a full second later Kenzi gasps and lowers the gun. "Oh my God... Oh my God. Bo, I'm so sorry."

Bo lowers Geraldine away from Kenzi's neck and pulls her into a hug," it's okay. I don't know how, but we're ok."

"Ha, speak for yourself," I pant.

"Oh my God," Kenzi says breaking the hug with Bo and healing down to me," Jamie, I'm so sorry."

"I know. It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah it was," she starting to tear up.

"No, it wasn't," I assure her, "I don't blame you. I blame that damn spider."

"Yeah me too," Bo says. Then she walks over to its lifeless body and slices it in half with Geraldine. "Just to be safe." She says looking back at us.


	9. I Fought the Fae (and the Fae Won)

-A few days later- 

 

"You know Jamie, I think you may have some healing powers too." Lauren tells me, as she examines my gunshot wound.

"Really?"

"Yeah! It's remarkable! The bullet shattered your femur and embedded itself into your one of the fragments. It's only been 5 days, but you are already out of the cast and walking! With a cane yes, but still, walking! I mean I've seen Fae that can heal, but I've never come across a type of Fae that heals  _this_  quickly without feeding! It's remarkable!"

"You said that already." I tell her.

"What?"

I do my best Lauren impression, "It's remarkable." 

"Well it is! What can I say?"

"You can say that we can let her walk up the stairs now," Bo says as she walks into the room. 

Kenzi comes in behind her, "yeah, she's been trying to get to her room all week."

"Yes! Please?" I beg her, "I'm so tired of sleeping on the couch!"

"I'm sorry," she says, "I really am, but until you can walk without that cane, I'd rather you not risk falling down the stairs and reinjuring yourself."

"Ugh," I groan, "how long do you think that will take?"

"Well, at the rate your healing... I'd say probably in the next couple of days."

"Yes!" I slightly raise my arms towards the ceiling with my hands wide open, "thank you!"

"Now, you told me yesterday you were having migraines?" Lauren asks.

"Way to kill the mood doc." Kenzi says.

Lauren grins and rolls her eyes at her then looks back at me, "do you think maybe it's your visions or something related to your abilities?"

"Yeah, probably. Also, if the migraines are a side effect of my powers, that's messed up."

"Well at least you don't kill people when you kiss them." Kenzi says.

"Kenzi!" Bo says hitting Kenzi on the arm.

"Ow! What it's true!" Kenzi replies, rubbing her arm.

"That doesn't mean you have to announce it to the whole damn city!"

I can't help but start laughing.

"What?" Bo asks,  "what's so funny?"

"You two," I chuckle, "you're ridiculous."

"She's right," Lauren adds, "you two are quite amusing, but," she looks at me, " _you_ need to go home, take some pain meds, and get some rest."

"Agreed," I nod.

 

~~~

 

About an hour later I am laying on the couch trying to take a nap. Bo and Kenzi have gone to the Dal to give me some peace and quiet. 

It doesn't take me long to fall asleep.

 

_I'm laying on the couch trying to nap when 3 men, all dressed in black, burst through the door. I reach for my cane and stand up to face them._

_"You're coming with us." One of them says._

_"Like hell I am."_

_They charge toward me and I hit the first one with my cane. It doesn't do anything except piss him off. The first one and the second one pin me down in just a few seconds, then the third injects something into my neck and they carry me away._

 

I wake up all sweaty.  _Gross_.

All of a sudden, 3 men, dressed in black, burst through the door. I reach for my cane and stand up to face them.

Thanks to my vision, I know I have no chance of winning here, especially in my crippled state. So I decide to put up the best fight that I can and make a mess in the process. That way, Bo and Kenzi will immediately know something is wrong when they get back.

I run, more like quickly limp, towards the lamp behind me and knock it over. It shatters on the ground and echoes up the stairs. I duck under the arms of one of the men and end up standing on the couch. I'm doing my best to ignore the extreme pain in my leg.

"Come and get me!" I taunt. 

One of them charges me and tackles me over the back of the couch, knocking it over and breaking a few things in the process.

However, when the couch knocks over, my femur lands right on the top of the couch when it hits the floor. I scream in pain.

The guy who tackled me goes flying over me and lands on his stomach, it knocks the wind out of him. The second one checks on him while the third picks me up by the throat and slams me up against the wall. I kick at him with my good leg and flail my arms trying to get him to let me go (as well as break a few more things). 

I'm nearly out of air when the second guy says, "Zack, we're supposed to bring her in alive!"

Zack continues to suffocate me. The second guy gets up from the first guy and puts his hand on Zack's shoulder, "alive," he emphasizes.

Zack releases his grip and I drop to the floor. When I land on my feet my knees buckle under me and I gasp from the pain in my reinjured leg. It only takes me a second to catch my breath then I look up at Zack who gives me his best right hook, rendering me unconscious.

_(Really!? Again!? ffs)_

 

~~~

 

I wake up in a dark and damp cell, on a cot more uncomfortable than the couch I've been sleeping on the past few nights. My leg has clearly been worked on and rebandaged.

I sit up and swing my legs over the side of my bed using my hands to move my injured leg. I groan through the pain and blink the dark spots out of my vision.

There is a shattered mirror across from me and I can see that my eye is a nice mix of black, green, and purple, with a little bit of dried blood. "I look  _great_." I say sarcastically to myself.

The door has a barred window and no handle on the inside. There isn't a window facing outside so I have no clue what time of day it is nor how much time has passed.

The walls are covered in dirt and the only other thing in the room, other than the cot, is a toilet. A gross, dirty ass toilet that looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a decade. It smells that way too, I would throw up if my stomach weren't empty. I've never been so happy to have missed a meal in my life.

The door opens and a tall, well-dressed man walks in.

"Hello Jamie. I am the Blackthorn, and you have been chosen as the Stag."

"Uh-"

"Usually," he continues, "the Stag is a prisoner who volunteers for the honor, but this time things are a bit different."

"I'm sorry. Um - I'm the what?"

"The Stag."

"And that means?"

"My apologies," he says, "I forgot you are new to our world. When a Fae leader dies or steps down, in this case dies, a ceremony is carried out to determine who replaces that leader. Since the Ash has been out of commission for quite some time, a new one will be named. One of the parts of this ceremony is a stag hunt. To prove his or her merit, contenders for the Ash compete by fighting a worthy prey. The Stag is always a prisoner, however, in this case, the Stag is you."

"And _why_ is it different this time? Why the  _hell_  is it me?"

"Because it was prophesied over a century ago." He says it as if the answer was obvious.

"Ok, so because some old hag who could 'see the future' said that I have to be the Stag over a hundred years ago, means that I have to be the prey in this hunt?! Which, by the way, calling it a 'hunt' makes me think that the odds are  _against_  me surviving this."

"Yes, that is what it means," he tells me, "and yes, the odds are against you, and you will most certainly die."

"Well shit," I say shocked, "way to beat around the blackthorn, Blackthorn! Maybe be a little more straightforward next time, would you?!"

"You're funny," he chuckles.

"Thanks," I say sarcastically, "I'm so glad me being pissed about my impending death amuses you!"

"Yes. Well, we are going to move you to a more secure, but comfortable," he looks around the dirty cell, "and clean location. However, I am going to need to put you in handcuffs."

"Of courseyou will." I say.

The door to the cell opens again and is left open as one of the three men from earlier walks in holding a pair of not-your-average handcuffs. I stand and hold my arms out allowing him to put the cuffs on me. 

"See you later." The Blackthorn says as he leaves the cell.

"He's a charmer," I say to the guard, "what's your name?" I ask him.

"Why?" He grunts.

"Because I'm sure we will be seeing each other a lot until my untimely demise and I'd like to stop calling you ' _that guy who tackled me over a couch_ ' in my head."

He laughs, "Nick, my name's Nick."

"Nice to meet you Nick. My name's Jamie."

"Yeah, ok," he says unamused, then he supports my bad side and walks me out of my cell towards the exit. 

 

Once we are outside we head towards a black SUV with tinted windows. When we are about 10 feet from the SUV, I swing my arms up at Nick's face hitting him hard with the handcuffs. He lets go of me and leans back from the impact. I then bring my arms down just as hard, elbowing him in the groin. He groans and doubles over. I grab the back of his shirt and throw him into the side of the SUV leaving him unconscious.

_Finally, someone other than me._

I then move as quickly as I can and get into the already running SUV and speed towards town.

 

~~~

 

I eventually find my way to the clubhouse and I park the SUV behind the building in hopes of hiding it from someone passing by, then I make my way inside. When I get inside I expect to find the place a mess, but nothing is broken and the couch is right side up. Those guys must have cleaned up before they left. Smarter than I gave them credit for. Also, of course Bo and Kenzi aren't home yet. So, I take a seat and I wait.

Fortunately, I don't have to wait long because twenty minutes later they walk through the door.

"When do we turn down the chance for a free party?" Kenzi asks, "It's like I don't even know you anymore."

"Trust me," Bo tells her, "nothing is free when it comes to these guys and their little reality show."

"Survivor: Fae Island, I would tune in."

"Look, Aife got messed up in politics and nearly blew everything to hell for us, literally. I'd just as soon not get involved in any Fae authority for a while, thank you very much."

"Ugh. Your mom ruins everything." Kenzi complains, "C'mon! How much fun would this be, huh? Feasting, and hunting stags! And kilts! And bangers! And mash and.., Mary Poppins!!"

"Are you feeling ok?" Bo asks her.

"I'm all out of British crap. You win."

Bo chuckles, "I always do. Just trust me, ok? You will thank me later. The further we stay away from this 'succession' business, the better--"

I stand up and the chain connecting my handcuffs rattles loudly.

Bo and Kenzi whip around. "What the--?" Kenzi says.

"Oh my god Jamie! What happened?" Bo asks quickly walking towards me.

"And why the hell are you in handcuffs?" Kenzi adds following her.

"You know that stag-hunt you were just talking about?"

"Yeah?" Bo says.

"I'm the Stag." 

"Oh, crap..." Bo sighs.

 

 

~~~

 

I explain to them how I was abducted, what the Blackthorn told me, and how I escaped.

“How do we stop this?” Bo asks.

“I wish I knew.” I tell them.

Suddenly, someone bangs loudly on the door making us all jump.

“They're here.” I say.

“Here we go,” Bo says putting her hand on Kenzi’s back, “Kenz--?”

“On it.” Kenzi says as she hurries to the other side of the room.

Bo starts towards the door, but I grab her hand and spin her back to face me.

"I'm not afraid to die." I tell her.

"You're not going to die," she assures me, "I won't let you."

"Thank you."

"No need, you're part of our family now, and we protect our family."

I pull her into a quick hug, then she pushes me behind her.

"Bo!" Kenzi shouts, tossing Bo a dagger.

Bo unsheathes it and Kenzi stands beside her with a dagger of her own.

The same three men from earlier bust through the outer door and walk through the open inner door of the clubhouse. Bo holds out the dagger and says, "This is not Light Fae territory. Get out."

"Bo..." It's Dyson, he walks in behind the men and says to them, "stand down and wait outside. I speak for The Blackthorn."

When they don't he says, "Feel free to complain to him if I leave you a throat." 

With that they leave and Bo lowers her dagger.

"What the hell is going on?" She asks him.

"You're outnumbered, Bo." He says, "It's better for everyone if the girl just comes peacefully." 

"Uh... Except for  _her."_ Kenzi says.

"Yeah," Bo adds, "plus she isn't 'the girl' this is Jamie we're talking about here!"

"I'm going to take her in myself," he assures us, "She'll be safe and well cared for until the hunt. It's the Law."

"No it isn't the law, Dyson!" Bo shouts, "It's some dumbass ancient prophecy!"

"Bo," I say calmly, "thank you," I put my hand on Kenzi's arm, "both of you. But, he's right, it's better if I go. Besides, you can't help me if you get yourself into some kind of trouble."  I walk over to Dyson.

"We'll get you out of this, Jamie" Bo says.

"I know you will."

 

~~~

 

Dyson does what he promised and takes me in and puts my in a very nice cell in the Ash's compound.

"You'll be safe here until the hunt," he assures me, "the people here will take great care of you. And... I'm so sorry Jamie. I don't know how you got into this situation, but I know Bo and Kenzi will stop at nothing to get you out of it."

"Thanks Dyson, and I know they will too."

"I'll see you later," he says as he turn to leave.

"Dyson wait!" I reach at him through the bars on the cell door.

"What? What is it?" He turns back to look at me.

"I need you to promise me something."

"Yeah, sure, what is it?"

"We both know that Bo and Kenzi will go as far as they need to in order to save me, even if it means putting their own lives on the line."

"Yeah."

"I need you to promise me that you will keep them safe, even if it keeps them from saving me-"

"Jamie, I-"

"Promise me, Dyson. I couldn't live with myself if one of them died to save me." I wait for his answer.

He sighs, "I promise."

I breathe a sigh of relief, "thank you."

He nods his head to say 'you're welcome' then he turns and leaves.

 

~~~

 

The bed in this cell is  _way_  more comfortable that the cot I was on before, I actually get a couple hours of sleep.

 

_Me head is pounding._

_When I open my eyes I realize I am laying on the floor. I sit up, squeeze my eyes shut, and rub my head to try to relieve some of the pain. When I open my eyes again I notice that I am in the bathroom of my last foster home, I'm 16 again._

_I stand up and look in the mirror; there is blood smeared across my face._

_I look down at my hands and they are covered in blood too._

_I'm freaking out._

_I stumble out of the bathroom and down the hallway towards my foster sister's room. Her name was Sabine and she was 11 years old. Of the 8 other people in that home (2 foster parents, 6 foster children (not counting me)), she was the only one who was nice to me._

_I turn the corner into her room (I say 'her' room but it was actually shared by the 3 foster girls, me, Sabine, and Susie (8 years old)), smearing blood on the door frame as I enter. I freeze when I see her. She is laying on the floor in a giant puddle of blood. Her throat has been slit and the knife is laying on the floor next to her. But it's not just any knife, it's my pocket knife. I bought it a couple of days ago to protect us from the foster parents._

_"I did this," I think to myself, "there's no way. Why would I? I wouldn't. But it's **my** knife. The blood is **literally** on my hands." _

_I'm breathing so quickly that I'm practically hyperventilating. I stumble backwards into the hall and against the wall._

_"What the hell are you doing?" He growls. It's Ward, the oldest and the meanest of the foster kids here. He was 17 and he used the fact that he was older as an excuse for why he would hit us, as if we didn't get enough from our foster parents. I got the worst of the parents' beatings, usually because I would defend Sabine from them and get double the punishment for it, but it kept Sabine safe which is what mattered. Then, when Ward would find out, he felt it was his job to give Sabine the beatings she missed out on, but I would usually take those for her too, when I could._

_What can I say? She was my friend. I never really had any of those growing up, so when I found one I would protect them with my life._

_But here she is. Dead. Seemingly by my hand._

_I can't look away from her bloodied body._

_When I don't answer Ward's question, he stomps over to where I am, "I said 'what the hell are you-"_

_He gets to the doorway and sees what I'm looking at, "what the..."_

_"I don't... I didn't... I don't think I-I." There are tears running down my face._

_"You did this!? The parents are going to think it was me! There going to kill me for this!" He grabs me by the throat and throws me to the floor and my head hits the ground hard. I see spots. He charges at me, but something seems to take over my body._

_I dodge him and stand up. I grab him by the throat and push him against the wall with one hand. I squeeze his throat as hard as I can._

_"Jamie," He chokes as he tries to pry my hand from his throat, "Jamie! You're - killing - me." He sucks in as much air as his obscured airway will let him and he gently lays his hands on my arm. "Wake up!"_

 

I blink a few times and I'm back in my cell. 

But instead of Ward, it's Lauren that I'm choking against the wall. I immediately let go of her and she drops to the floor gasping and coughing. I stagger away from her, afraid of myself.

"Lauren, I-I'm sorry. I don't- I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't- I'm sorry. I-" I back into the corner of the room and slide down the wall to the floor. 

I'm shell-shocked.

"It was me... I  _killed_  her... That'swhy I ran... I must have blocked out the memory... There was so much blood," I ramble.

Lauren, finally able to breathe again, says, "Jamie? Jamie, what's going on?" She gets up and walks towards me.

"No! Stay back. I'm dangerous. I'm-" I realize what I am, "a killer... The old hag was right... I  _am_  supposed to be the stag. The stag is a prisoner and I should have been imprisoned a long time ago."

"Jamie, you're not making any sense. What do you mean you're a killer?"

"I think I may know why I tried to strangle you." I tell her.

"Is it because you were dreaming? Having a vision?" She asks.

"Sort of. I-I was remembering something. Something from a long time ago. Something I blocked out because it was so... horrible."

"Jamie," she's speaking calmly, as if she didn't just almost die less than 5 minutes ago, "start from the beginning."

I take a deep breath and I tell her everything.

I tell her about how I was left on the steps of an orphanage, which I lived in for 4 years, until I began being constantly moved around from foster home to foster home.

I tell her about the abusive homes, the good homes, my best memories, my worst memories, even my suicide attempts when I was 14.

I tell her about the dream, about how I killed my only friend but don't remember doing it. 

I tell her how I ran and ran, how I never got attached to anyone or anything because I didn't want to get hurt and I was afraid I would hurt them.

I tell her about when Bo attacked me. I even tell her about my visit with the Nain Rouge.

I tell her everything. 

 

We were probably there for a couple of hours.

By the end of it we are both crying. The front of my shirt is soaked from my tears. 

Lauren just sits there and holds me, she must have been scooting closer and closer to me as I told her my story.

Once I finally get ahold of myself, we sit there in silence for a few minutes. 

I'm the one who breaks the silence, "Thank you." 

"For what?"

"For listening," I say, "for caring."

"Of course." Lauren says bringing me into a hug.

I start tearing up again, "I've just never really had this before." I say over her shoulder, "Someone to talk to, I mean. Someone who actually listens and cares." She pulls out of the hug and looks at me. 

Tears are running down my face again, I can't look her in the eyes. I've just completely exposed myself to her and I feel ashamed.

Lauren reaches out and lifts my head up so that I am looking at her. She holds my head in her hands and wipes the tears from my face, "Well get used to it." She says.

I laugh and a few more tears run down my face, I pull her into another hug.

"Thank you, Lauren."

"You're welcome, Jamie."

"And I'm also sorry that I nearly killed you."

"Apology accepted." She laughs.

I let go of the hug and sit face-to-face with her again, "you can't tell  _anyone_  about my little visit with the Nain Rouge. Especially Bo."

"Why not?"

"You just can't." I tell her, "I don't know. It's just, every time I've contemplated telling her, I've gotten this bad feeling in pit of my stomach."

"Well now that we have a better sense of what your Fae ability is, we should definitely listen to that gut feeling."

"Yeah, that was my thinking too." I pause as I realize something, "Lauren?"

"Yes?"

"Why were you in here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean how did you get into my cell? Why?"

"Oh, I just came to check on you. Bo and Kenzi wanted an update on how you were doing -pause- which I guess they probably still want." She gets up off the floor, pulls out her phone, and sends Bo a quick text.

"What did you tell her?" I ask, standing up next to her.

"I told her you are doing fine, all things considered"

"Yeah." I chuckle.

We walk over and sit down on the bed.

"Do you know what's supposed to happen between now and the Hunt?" I ask her.

"You mean they haven't told you?"

I give her a look that says 'you really think they tell me anything?'.

"Right," she says, "okay, so the process for naming a new Ash starts with the 'Gyallahaal.'"

The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them, "Which one: Jake, or Maggie?"

Lauren laughs, "funny. Sounds like a joke Bo would make."

I'm sitting there wide eyed because I didn't come up with that joke, the words weren't mine.

"What?" Lauren asks, "Jamie, what is it?"

"I think that  _was_  hermaking that joke."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I think Bo  _did_  make that joke _."_

Lauren shakes her head, "I'm not following."

"I'm not sure I am either." 

I squeeze my eyes shut tight, then I blink rapidly and I'm suddenly sitting in the Dal.

"It's a gala, in the Stag's honor." Trick says, as he paces back and forth in front of me.

I look down at my hands, but they aren't actually mine, "What the hell?" I say, still examining the hands that aren't mine.

"What is it, Bo?" Trick asks.

"Bo? I'm not..." That's when it hits me, "holy shit, no way!"

"What?" Trick asks again.

"It's me, Jamie. I think I've - um - _possessed_ Bo's body."

"Jamie?" It's Lauren, "Jamie, what's happening? Who are you talking to?"

"I'm talking to Trick. I'm in the Dal, well,  _Bo's_  in the Dal."

"Is there someone there with you?" Trick asks.

"Yeah, Lauren is. She was just explaining the process of naming a new Ash."

"That's what I am currently explaining to Bo." He says.

"That must be why Bo and I linked up, or whatever you want to call what is happening right now, because we were having the same conversation at the same time. Must be a part of my power or something?"

"Yeah, I guess that could be it." Lauren and Trick say at the same time.

"Whoa, what the hell? That was some tripy shit right there."

"What?" They both say. 

"Guys stop that. You both keep saying the same exact thing at the same exact time and it's really throwing me off."

"Sorry." They say in unison.

I sigh, "I'll let that one slide, but seriously, stop it. -pause- Okay. Trick, I'm going to try to get out of Bo, but I'm not really sure how to go about doing that. Any tips?"

He thinks for a second, "not really, sorry Jamie. I've never seen this before."

"That's got to be a first." I say.

"What?" Lauren asks.

"Trick, he's stumped. He doesn't know how to help me stop possessing Bo."

"Wow." She says, "yeah that's the first I've ever heard of him being stumped."

"You wouldn't happen to have any tips for me, would you Lauren?"

"I'm afraid not," she tells me.

"Wow, y'all are so helpful," I sigh, "okay, here goes nothing, and Trick,"

"Yeah, Jamie?"

"With any luck, Bo can actually hear us and knows what's going on, but if she doesn't remember this, then after you're done explaining, let her know that I'm okay, would you?"

"Of course." He assures me.

"Thank you, and I guess I'll see you at the 'Gyallahaal?'"

"You sure will."

I nod at him, then I close my/Bo's eyes and I picture my little cell in the Ash's compound. 

The smell, the blinding white of the walls, floor, ceiling, and sheets, the cool temperature of the room.

 

I violently jerk back into my body, nearly causing me to fall off the bed.

"Jamie!" Lauren grabs me by the shoulders. She is the only reason I don't fall flat on my face.

"Oh my God," I say, astonished. I look at her, "that was insane."

"I'd have to agree with you on that one." She says.

We sit for a few seconds to allow me to adjust to being back in my body ( _a phrase I never thought I would say_ ).

"So,  _anyway_ ," I say, getting back to the conversation, "you were explaining the 'Gyallahaal,' Trick told me that it's a gala in the Stag's honor."

"Yeah," Lauren continues her explanation, "all of the potential candidates gather for the 'Gyallahaal,' which, while it is a gala, it is also the first competition, a test of political skill and cunning. Those who receive enough votes are deemed contenders and they compete in the hunt."

"Fantastic!" I say sarcastically, "so I'm going to be hunted by a bunch of political pricks. What more could a girl ask for?"

"Yeah," Lauren chuckles, "I'd imagine that Bo's plan will be to get into the gala and some how get someone on our side to compete in the hunt, thereby eliminating one of the three people that will be hunting you."

"What about you," I ask, "will you be there?"

"No, sorry," she says, "the gala is a Fae only event. I only know the details because I've done my research."

"Of course it is."

"I'm sure that someone will be by soon to measure you for a dress for the gala."

"Ugh! I have to wear a dress too?! Can't we just skip straight to the hunt?"

"I'm afraid not," Lauren laughs.

"Damn."

 

Lauren leaves a few minutes later, and as she guessed the dressmakers arrive about an hour later.

  

~~~

 

5 hours later I'm sitting in a chair on display for a bunch of uptight light Fae. They line up to kiss my hand and thank me. Ha!  _Thank me,_ like I had a choice.

Bo walks in with Trick and Hale by her side. They split up to divide and conquer to try and get Hale a spot in the top 3 so he can compete in the hunt.

 

About an hour later Bo walks up to me and kisses my hand, "How ya holdin' up?"

"Pretty good, considering, but this dress is  _so_  uncomfortable." I squirm a little in my seat, "and my ass went numb about 10 minutes ago."

She laughs, "well don't worry, the Gyallahaal is nearly over and Hale is in 2nd place."

"That's good. Means I'll have one less person trying to kill me. Side note, you look amazing."

"Oh, thanks!" She does a small curtsy and smiles.

Two large guys walk over to us, "looks like it's time for the hunt. Which also means a change of clothes! Thank God!"

"Your priorities are so mixed up," she chuckles.

I stand up to go with the men, "yes they are, now go save my life."

"I will."

"I know."

 

I'm escorted to a room where I change into a long sleeve shirt, a leather jacket, some boots, and  _pants_  (oh my god, it's only been a few hours, but I have missed pants).

Then I am released into the woods like some animal being released back into the wild. 

I know that the bell is located in practically the center of the woods, so I run as fast as I can in that direction. If I ring the bell, I get to go free. 

I climb up the side of a small cliff using some roots and vines, once I reach the top, one of the competitors is waiting for me with their bow and arrows. I freeze in place and put my hands up as they draw back the string.

Then Dyson comes out of nowhere and pushes the girl off the small cliff I just climbed up.

"Oh my god, Dyson!" I fling my arms around him and wrap him in a tight hug, "thank you!"

"Of course." He says as he releases me from the hug, "Bo and Kenzi would kill me if I'd let anything happen to you."

I laugh, "yeah, that's true."

"Now come on, let's find this bell."

We run towards the bell, he leads the way. We come upon a clearing and stop at the edge of it.

"There," Dyson says, gesturing towards the bell which stands in the center of the clearing, "don't stop. You've gotta' run."

"No shit," I say, slightly out of breath, I flash him a grin and take off towards the bell.

I hear Bo shout my name, "oh no, no, NO. JAMIE RUN!! GO GO GO!!

I push my legs as fast as they will go. I'm about 10 feet from the bell when I feel an arrow tear through my flesh. It's laced with poison and can feel it spreading through my body before I even hit the ground. When I  _do_ hit the ground, I blackout.

_I'm back in a nightmare, it's a series of visions. Flashes of horrible images, terrifying words, and a gut-wrenching feeling._

_I see a very tall man with flaming wings and a deafening screech that sends chills through my body. He raises a flaming sword above Bo who is crouched over Kenzi in a protective stance, he swings it down towards her head and the scene changes._

_I see those blue eyes, full of the same rage, lust-filled power they were the first time I saw them. Bo speaks, but the voice isn't hers, it's distorted and demonic, " My strength is unmatched. I will reign as Queen and you shall all tremble before my power!" I see flashes of mass graves and mindless slaves. I see the demonic Bo sitting upon a throne with the dead scattered at her feet. There are only a few faces among the dead that stand out, they belong to Me, Kenzi, Dyson, Lauren, Hale, Trick, and two people I've never met before._

_I see a giant, flaming eagle enter and possess Trick's body._

_I see Kenzi bleeding profusely from a wound in her abdomen._

_I see Trick grasping Bo's arm saying, " What have you done?" then falling to the ground clutching his throat. _

_I see Kenzi unconscious on the floor of the Clubhouse._

_I hear Dyson screaming "No!" his voice full of sorrow._

_I see Bo sucking the chi from an entire room of people as she glows a bright orange._

_I see severed heads that are identical to that of the person who just shot me._

_I feel fear at a level I've never felt before._

 

I quickly sit up as I take in a massive breath.

I'm back in the woods surrounded by my friends, by my family, but the fear is still there. Bo gently touches my shoulder and I jerk away from her before I can stop myself. Bo pulls her hand back and I'm worried she'll be mad, but instead she looks concerned, "Jamie, it's alright. You're okay. You're back. Lauren brought you back."

I see some of Lauren's blonde hair out of the corner of my eye and turn to face her, still breathing rapidly. I must look terrified because Lauren asks me what's wrong.

"I..." I can't decide if I should tell them what I saw yet or not, "Uh- no. No, everything's fine." I lie. I take a deep breath and get my breathing steady, "I'm alive."

"Damn right you are!" Kenzi says, "drinks are on Trick!"

"Drinks are always on Trick." I say.

"And? It's still something we should celebrate, and we can celebrate it while simultaneously celebrating the fact that you're alive!"

I laugh and shake my head, "sounds good to me, Kenz."

"Yes!" She pumps her fist in the air.

 


End file.
